Mechanicsburg’s Will Negley (pictured) won the OHC boys cross country title on Saturday.
Photo by John Coffman Photography
The West Liberty-Salem girls cross country team won its 9th consecutive Ohio Heritage Conference title Saturday at Cedarville University.
WL-S was first with 30 points and Mechanicsburg was third with 96.
Malia Miller powered the Big Orange attack placing first overall in 19:28.36 and earning OHC Runner of the Year honors. Ashley Yoder 4th place (20:10.19) and Breece Gullet 5th (20:23.41) also earned OHC 1st Team honors.
Also placing in the top 12 for WL-S were Addison McAuley 9th (20:38.89), Gwen McCullough 11th (21:09.64) and Hattie Jacobs 12th (21:23.91).
“I’m really proud of the way the team competed,” said WL-S Coach Ann Vogel. “They ran a disciplined race and I really like how they tackled their second mile. It’s always a good day when all four teams from our program bring home conference titles.”
For Mechanicsburg, Clair Rodgers was 2nd in 20:01.56, Isabelle Rodgers was 8th in 20:37.80 and Aca Sexton was 22nd in 22:49.97.
For Triad, Shalyn Smiles was 10th in 20:46.11.
The WL-S boys team also won the OHC title on Saturday. It marks the 13th title in the past 15 years, and the program’s 33rd overall.
WL-S won with 31 points, Mechanicsburg was third with 88 and Triad was fourth with 124.
Top 10 finishers for the Tigers included Asher Knox 2nd 16:24.9 1st Team All OHC, Dylan King 5th 16:57.6 1st Team All OHC, Caleb Larson 7th 17:13.4 1st Team All OHC, Garrett Wallen 8th 17:13.5 1st Team All OHC, Quentin Rudolph 9th 17:13.7 2nd Team All OHC and Troy Bradley 10th 17:22.6 2nd Team All OHC.
“I’m very pleased to see these young men win an OHC title,” said WL-S Coach Mike Louden. “Winning a conference title is one of our team’s main goals each season, so to accomplish it this year against a solid field is very satisfying. We will now turn our attention to the post-season, beginning next week at districts where we will look to defend our district title from last year.”
For Mechanicsburg, Will Negley was 1st in 16:21.03, Beck Negley was 4th in 16:31.08 and Joshua Porter was 13th in 17:34.63.
For Triad, Wyatt Robison was 16th in 17:54.30, Henry Beaverson was 18th in 17:59.84 and Cohen Millice was 26th in 18:51.01.
JH track
The WL-S junior high boys team won the OHC title with a perfect score. Leading the Tigers were Asher Cole 1st 10:51 and Adly Knox 2nd 11:30.
The WL-S girls also won the OHC title. Leading the Tigers were Addi Wallen 1st 12:36 and Isla Leitchy 6th 13:18.
